Two Statements on the Punishment of the Apostate
According to Islamic Law

Introduction

The two statements which follow the Introduction, as well as the
essential content of the Introduction, the statement from
Amnesty International and the quotations from the Hadith
(Canonical Tradition), are taken from Abul Ala Mawdudi's book
The Punishment of the Apostate according to Islamic Law
(translated and annotated by Syed Silas Husain and Ernest Hahn.

Who is the Pakistani scholar Abul Ala Mawdudi (1903-1979)?
Charles Adams, for many years a professor at the Institute of
Islamic Studies, McGill University, and a highly respected scholar
of Islamics, writes:

... Today Mawdudi must rank among the more popular and respected
authors in the Islamic domains, if indeed he is not the single,
most widely read writer among Muslims at the present time. His
writings give strong expression to the themes basic to the
present-day Islamic resurgence. When the time comes for the
religious history of Islam in the twentieth century to be written,
Mawdudi's name will unquestionably have a prominent and an honoured
place in its pages. (Mawdudi, p. 8)

What is Mawdudi's thesis regarding this law of apostasy and its
punishment? He writes:

To everyone acquainted with Islamic Law, it is no secret that
according to Islam, the punishment for a Muslim who turns to
kufr (infidelity, blasphemy) is execution. Doubt about this
matter first arose among Muslims during the final portion of
the 19th century as a result of speculation. Otherwise, for
the full twelve centuries prior to that time, the total Muslim
community remained unanimous about it. The whole of our religious
literature clearly testifies that ambiguity about the matter of
the apostate's execution never existed among Muslims.... (p. 17)

And what Islamic source materials does Mawdudi draw on for evidence
of this law and its punishment? Mawdudi, as many other Muslim
scholars of the past and present, finds expression of this law and
its punishment within the Qur'an itself, though still other Muslim
scholars understand that the Qur'an speaks of the apostate's
punishment only in the afterlife. Muslim Canonical Tradition
(Hadith), the recorded actions and sayings of Muhammad and the
second indispensable source of Islam and Islamic law (shari`ah)
- Islam is more than the Qur'an! - frequently and clearly relates
how, at the time of Muhammad and his four great successors, the
apostate was executed. All four Sunni Islam legal schools (Hanafi,
Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi`i) and Shi`a Islam call for the execution of
the male and female apostate, though Hanafi and Shi'a schools imprison
the female until she returns to Islam. Highly significant, adds
Mawdudi, is the well documented jihad (holy war) carried out
by Abu Bakr, Muhammad's successor, with the support of Muhammad's
closest companions, against the Arab tribes who apostatized from
Islam immediately after Muhammad's death. (pp. 25-27)

It is true that in the past couple of centuries, Western influence
in the Muslim World has modified some Muslim attitudes and legislation
with respect to this law of apostasy and its punishment. Nevertheless,
many Muslims in many Muslim nations and in Muslim communities within
non-Muslim nations continue to recognize the validity of this law and
to apply its penalties in their severest or less severe forms through
the imam or even a community or family leader. Naturally,
converts from Islam in these nations are also aware of these facts.
Converts from Islam in the West, too, generally are keenly aware of
it and fear its consequences, not only against themselves but against
their families and friends here and in their native lands.

On the other hand, many Muslims today strongly oppose the traditional
Muslim doctrine of apostasy and its punishment. Some of these, however,
while wishing the law had never existed, are acutely aware of its
existence in all Islamic legal schools and its widespread influence
over Islamic society. Others of these Muslims, especially residents
in the West, perhaps for reasons of ignorance or for apologetic purposes,
glibly dismiss the traditional Islamic law of apostasy and its punishment
as if the law did not really exist, or as if it were a relic of the past,
or as if it were, in the words of a letter to The Toronto Globe and
Mail, "an obscene edict from a fanatic sect in Islam".

In brief, the law of apostasy and its punishment has existed as part
and parcel of Islam and Islamic law in all Islam's traditional and
orthodox forms and from Islam's earliest history, regardless of whether
and how the law has been implemented. The law remains quite alive and
well, even in the minds of many Muslims in the West. And it continues
to be a vital issue in the comparison between any Islamic declaration
of human rights and the United Nations declaration of human rights.
Thus Ann Elizabeth Mayer (Islam and Human Rights, Pinter Publishers,
London, 1991, pp. 186, 187) writes with reference to apostasy:

"The Islamic human rights schemes ... are evasive on the
question of protections for freedom of religion ... The
failure of a single one of these Islamic human rights
schemes to take a position against the application of the
shari`a death penalty for apostasy means that the authors
of these schemes have neglected to confront and resolve
the main issues involved in harmonizing international human
rights and shari`a standards." (p. 11)

"A significant difference between the United Nations' Charter
(of Human Rights) and the Islamic Declaration (of Human Rights)
of 1981 is the starting point: The Charter is based on the
dignity of the individual human being, while the Islamic
Declaration of Human Rights is founded on the Qur'an and Hadith.
Thus the shari`ah is the foundation of this Charter and
is presupposed by it. The United Nations' Charter has a starting
point, which is seen as valid for all mankind, i.e., the dignity
of human nature. The portrayal of man, which is presupposed in
the Islamic Declaration, is the Islamic portrayal of man. Against
this, the United Nations' Charter indeed does not exclude a
religiously inspired portrayal of man; still, it acknowledges
none among the religions. In 1981, the General Assembly of the
United Nations accepted a declaration eliminating any form of
intolerance and discrimination on the basis of religion or faith.
It is thus not easy to understand how such a declaration may be
compatible with the Islamic Declaration of Human Rights." (p. 11)

Quotations from the Hadith (the Second Source of Islam) Commanding
the Execution of the Apostate

1.

Any person (i.e., Muslim) who has changed his religion, kill him. (Bukhari)

This tradition has been narrated by Abu Bakr, Uthman, Ali, Muadh ibn Jabal,
Abu Musa Ashari, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Khalid ibn Walid and a number of
other Companions and is found in all the authentic Hadith collections.

2.

Abdullah ibn Masud reports:

The Messenger of God states: In no way is it permitted to shed the
blood of a Muslim who testifies that "there is no god except God"
and "I am the Apostle of God" except for three crimes:

a)

he has killed someone and his act merits retaliation;

b)

he is married and commits adultery;

c)

he abandons his religion and is separated from the community. (Bukhari)

3.

Abu Musa Ashari reports:

The Prophet appointed and sent him (Abu Musa) as governor of Yemen.
Then, later he sent Muadh ibn Jabal as his assistant. When Muadh
arrived there, he announced: "People, I am sent by the Messenger of
God for you." Abu Musa placed a cushion for him to be comfortably
seated.

Meanwhile, a person was presented who previously had been a Jew,
then was a Muslim and then became a Jew. Muadh said: "I will not sit
unless this person is executed. This is the judgement of God and
His Messenger." Muadh repeated the statement three times. Finally,
when he was killed, Muadh sat.

It should be noted that this incident took place during the blessed
life of the Prophet. At that time, Abu Musa represented the Prophet
as governor and Muadh as vice-governor. If their action had not been
based on the decision of God and His Messenger, surely the Prophet
would have objected. (pp. 19, 20)

Statement One

A Sunni Muslim Pronouncement on Apostasy from Lebanon

Several years ago a Lebanese family in Germany requested official
information from the Office of the Mufti[1] in Lebanon regarding the
law of apostasy in Islam. The response in Arabic, which the family
received, appears at the end of this statement. The translation of
the response is as follows:

"In the Name of the Merciful and Compassionate Allah, Dar al-Fatwa[1]
in the Republic of Lebanon, Beirut. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of
the Universe; blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, the
Apostle of Allah, and upon his Family, his Companions, his Followers
and those who have found the way through him.

A question has come: `What is the stand of the Islamic Law regarding
the Muslim who has renounced Islam and embraced another religion?'
The answer is, with Allah's help: Etymologically, raddah
(renouncing) means to go back on a thing to something else. As far
as religious law is concerned, it means the severing of the continuity
of Islam. The murtadd (apostate) is the one who has renounced
Islam. The state of raddah (apostasy), should it continue and
he die in it, will nullify the value of his work. Such a person will
have died outside Islam. This is based on the saying of the Exalted
One (i.e., Allah, in the Qur'an): `Those who among you renounce their
religion and die as unbelievers, their works would have failed them.'

The loss of the merit of one's works is linked to two conditions:
apostasy, and dying in the state of apostasy. These two conditions
are necessary and are not the same. Should the apostate renounce
his apostasy and return to Islam, his status would be valid as long
as he gave these two testimonies:

`I testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad
is the Apostle of Allah.'

(The second testimony) should be a clear declaration that he
is free from every religion which is contrary to Islam; that he no
longer adheres to the faith which had caused him to apostatize;
that he is not innocent from the transgression he fell into on
account of his apostasy.

The person who renounces his apostasy is not obliged to repeat the
performance of everything he had accomplished prior to his apostasy
(i.e., while he was still a practicing Muslim), such as the hajj
(pilgrimage) and the prayers. His works will no longer be counted
as having failed him, now that he has returned to Islam. But he must
perform all that he has missed during the raddah and the period
leading up to it. For he is still under obligation, (even) while he
was in the state of apostasy, to perform all that is required of
a Muslim.

Now, should the apostate (male or female) persist in his apostasy, he
should be given the opportunity to repent, prior to his being put to
death, out of respect for his Islam. A misunderstanding on his part
may have taken place, and there would thus be an opportunity to rectify
it. Often apostasy takes place on account of an offer (of inducement).
So Islam must be presented to the apostate, things should be clarified,
and his sin made manifest. He should be imprisoned for three days,
so that he may have the opportunity to reflect upon his situation.
This three-day period has been deemed adequate. But if the man or
the woman has not repented of his or her raddah, but has
continued to persist in it, then he or she should be put to death.
(This is in harmony with) Muhammad's saying, may Allah's blessings
and peace be upon him: `Kill him who changes his religion', as related
by the Hadith authority, al-Bukhari, (in his Hadith collection). He,
who executes the apostate, is the imam (ruler or leader in Islam) or,
with his permission, his deputy. When a person deserves capital
punishment, in accordance with the will of Allah, the carrying out
of the penalty is left to the imam or the one he has authorized. But
if some person, other than the imam or his deputy, has not abided by
this rule and executed the apostate, that person should be punished
because he has usurped the function of the imam. This punishment
is not specifically described. It is left to the judge to decide
the amount of the punishment in order that it will keep people from
usurping the role of the imam.

An apostate may not be buried in the cemetery of the Muslims, since
by his apostasy he has departed from them.

According to Imam Abu Hanifah, may the mercy of Allah be upon him,
the female apostate should not be put to death, but must be imprisoned
until she islamizes. Reference is then made to Khatib al-Sharbini,
Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, and other authorities. Allah knows best. May
Allah bless our Master Muhammad, his Family and his Companions.
Thanks be to God, the Lord of the universe."

Beirut, the 14th of Rabi` al-Thani in the year 1410 A.H.
13 November 1989.

Signed:

Signed:

Deputy to the Mufti of the Republic of Lebanon

Note:

[1] A mufti, a skilled legal expert in Shari`a (Muslim
canonical law) who issues a legal opinion in the form of a fatwa
(Islamic legal pronouncement) in response to a question.
Dar al-Fatwa, lit., "the house of pronouncement".

The Arabic Text of the above Sunni Muslim Pronouncement on Apostasy

Statement Two

A Shi`ite Muslim Pronouncement on Apostasy

The following Shi`ite pronouncement on apostasy in Islam appeared in Kayhan International, March 1986.

Introduction

In Islam, apostasy is a flagrant sin and guilt for which certain
punishments have been specified in fiqh (Islamic law). Apostasy
means, to renounce the religion or a religious principle after accepting
it. In other words, one's departure from Islam to atheism is called
apostasy.

A person who abandons Islam and adopts atheism is called an apostate.
There are special laws concerning apostates in the Islamic fiqh.
In this lesson, we will be familiarized with them. With regard to the
above-mentioned points, we will continue to discuss the issue of
apostasy and apostates in the following parts: (There follows an
outline.)

1. Types of apostasy:
As it was mentioned, apostasy means to return from Islam to atheism
and polytheism. That is why it can also be called "reaction".
Therefore, from the standpoint of Islam and the Islamic fiqh,
reaction is to actually give up Tawhid (monotheism) and return
to atheism and polytheism. Reaction is to abandon monotheism and
take up paganism, idolatry and materialism. Reaction is to return
from faith and knowledge to ignorance. Therefore, the exact examples
of reaction in the current world, especially Muslim-inhabited regions,
are apostate materialists, Marxists, and polytheistic capitalists and
Zionists who have abandoned Tawhid and resorted to Trinity and
racism. Heretical groups in the Muslim world, such as Ba`athists and
the likes of them are reactionary and apostate. Because by denying
the genuineness of Islam, or many of its rules, they have practically
become apostate and contracted the fatal disease of apostasy and
reaction.

Apostasy has two types: one is "voluntary" apostasy and the other is
"innate" apostasy. Therefore, there are also two types of apostates:
voluntary apostates and innate apostates who are treated according to
different rules. In the jurisprudential book of Tahrir al-Wassilah
voluntary and innate apostates are defined as follows:

"An apostate, that is, one who abandons Islam and takes up atheism,
may be of two types:

a. Voluntary apostate: a person whose parents, or either of
them, were Muslim at the time of his or her development in the mother's
womb and who takes up atheism after growing up.

b. Innate apostate: a person who is born of atheist parents
and who accepts Islam after growing up, but returns to atheism later."[1]

2. The way to prove one's apostasy: After the meaning of apostasy
and its two types have been clarified, this question may come to mind:
How can a person's apostasy be proven?

In response, I should say that, since Islam is an easy religion, it has
adopted an easy and untroubled manner in this connection, which does
not involve any slander and accusation. Here, before anything else,
the judge attaches importance to the confession of the accused person.
Whatever the charged person says about himself or herself, the judge
takes it as an evidence. If the charged person confesses to his
apostasy, his word will be accepted; if he denies the charge of
apostasy and claims Islam, again his word will be taken as valid.

Tahrir al-Wassilah reads so in this regard: "Apostasy is
proven in two ways: First, the person himself confesses to his apostasy
twice. Second, two just and truthful men bear witness to the person's
apostasy. But women's testimonies do not prove apostasy in any case;
either they bear witness individually, in a group or beside a man."[2]

There should also be several conditions or prerequisites in a person
charged with apostasy to be convicted of this guilt. These conditions
are: adulthood, wisdom, free will, and intention. Therefore, apostasy
does not apply to children, lunatics, and those who have been forced
to pretend it. Also, apostasy does not apply for a Muslim who utters
a blasphemous word or commits a blasphemous act neglectfully or jokingly
and without intention, or in a coma, or in anger; that is to say, he
is still a Muslim and considered a Muslim.

"If a person utters or does something indicative of apostasy, and he
claims that he was compelled to do so, or did not have real intention
and uttered it unconsciously, his or her claim is accepted, even though
there is already ample proof of his having done a blasphemous act."[3]

3. The punishment of apostates: The punishment that Islam has
considered for voluntary and innate apostates differ.

a. Voluntary apostate: If this apostate is a man, the following
punishment will be imposed upon him: "His wife is separated from him
(that is, she becomes forbidden to him) and, as though her husband is
dead, she should not marry another man for a certain period of time
and after that period, she can marry someone else if she wants.

"In addition to this, the property of a male apostate is divided among
his lawful heirs. In this division, they won't await his death and
his property is distributed among them while he is still living; of
course, his debts are first repaid (and the apostate himself is executed).
The repentance of a voluntary apostate is not accepted and has no effect
in regaining his property and wife. His inward repentance will be
accepted by God (that is to say, the other worldly chastisement will
be lifted from him).

"In some cases, a voluntary apostate's apparent repentance is also
accepted and as a result his prayers and worship will be accepted,
his body will be clean and touchable again; he will be allowed to
gain new property through legitimate ways such as trade, work, and
inheritance. He can also marry a Muslim woman or marry his former
wife again."[4]

This is the punishment of a male voluntary apostate. As you observe,
Islam considers him a dead person and issues the rule of the dead
about his property and wife.

The words of the great Faqih Imam Khomeini indicate that, if a voluntary
apostate repents, he will be relieved of death punishment. However,
some of the earlier Faqihs such as Allamah Helli believed that a
voluntary apostate should be executed immediately and that his
repentance was not acceptable.[5]

Imam Khomeini's statement in this regard is based on common law and
rationality. Some of the former Faqihs like Eskafi and Sahib al-Massalik
were of the same opinion. Concerning the documents invoked by the
opponents of this opinion, Sahib al-Massalik says: "... Reliable
jurisprudential documents generally indicate that an apostate's
repentance is acceptable, and any different interpretation of these
documents is doubtful."[6]

A similar statement has also been narrated from the Sunnis. For example,
Taliha Ibn Khowailad Assadi, a well-known apostate in the early years
of Islam, who was defeated after apostasy and rebellion against Muslims,
repented after some time (and thus was pardoned). In the Nahavand
battle, he was one of the commanders of the Muslims' army and was killed
in that battle.[7]

But the punishment of a female voluntary apostate is as follows:
"Her property remains in her ownership and is not transferred to her
lawful heirs, unless she dies. (A female apostate is not executed
on charges of apostasy.) She is separated from her husband without
any need to remain unmarried for a certain period, of course if no
intercourse has taken place between her and her husband. But if they
have had sexual intercourse, she should remain unmarried for a certain
period as of the moment of her apostasy just as if she were divorced.
If the woman repents in the middle of the period of remaining unmarried,
she will become the wife of her former husband without any need to
hold marriage ceremonies again."[8]

Therefore, a female apostate is never executed but is imprisoned.

b. Innate Apostate: An innate apostate is treated in this way:
"His or her property is not transferred to the heirs as a result of
apostasy. An innate man or woman is separated from his or her spouse
as a penalty for apostasy. In case of repenting before the expiration
of the period that the woman has to remain unmarried, they will again
belong to each other. But if repentance is uttered after the expiration
of this special period, they will no longer be each other's wife and
husband."[9]

An innate apostate is not executed if he repents. This is a matter
agreed on by all faqihs (Islamic jurists).

4. Apostate's Repentance: The case of an apostate's repentance
has become clear and, therefore, there is no need to explain it again.

5. A View of the Qur'anic Verses About Apostasy: There are
many verses in the Glorious Qur'an and numerous narrations in Islamic
historical and narrative books that help us have a deep understanding
of the phenomenon of apostasy. Let us take a look at some of them:

1. "O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from
his religion, then Allah will bring a people, He shall love them and
they shall love Him, lowly before the believers, mighty against the
unbelievers, they shall strive hard in Allah's way and shall not fear
the censure of any censurer; this is Allah's grace, He gives it to
whom He pleases, and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing."[10]

2. "... And they will not cease fighting with you until they turn
you back from your religion, if they can; and whoever of you turns
back from his religion, then he dies while an unbeliever - these it
is whose works shall go for nothing in this world and the hereafter;
and they are the inmates of the fire; therein they shall abide."[11]

3. "Surely (as for) those who return on their backs after that
guidance has become manifest to them, the Shaitan has made it a light
matter to them; and He gives them respite.

"That is because they say to those who hate what Allah has revealed:
We will obey you in some of the affairs; and Allah knows their secrets.

"But how will it be when the angels cause them to die, smiting
their backs.

"That is because they follow what is displeasing to Allah and are
averse to His pleasure, therefore He has made null their deeds."[12]

4. "O you who believe! If you obey a party from among those who
have been given the Book, they will turn you back as unbelievers after
you have believed."[13]

5. "And Muhammad is no more than an apostle; the apostles have
already passed away before him. If then he dies or is killed, will
you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels,
he will by no means do harm to Allah in the least, and Allah will
reward the grateful."[14]

As you observe, these verses have approached apostasy from different
aspects and meditation upon them will shed light on many issues.

6. Answer to a Controversial Question: In connection with
the subject of apostasy and the punishment that the holy religion of
Islam has considered for it, the narrow-minded or the enemies of
justice and truth may attempt to create doubt in the people's minds
by raising a question and taking advantage of it opportunistically
in their anti-Islamic propaganda. This is the question: Do the Muslims
not claim that Islam is the religion of the freedom of belief and creed
and that there is no compulsion in choosing one's opinion? Then why
has Islam considered such heavy penalties and punishment for apostasy?

The answer to this irrelevant question is this: Yes, Islam and the
Glorious Qur'an have denied compulsion and coercion in belief, and
the Exalted God says so in the Glorious Qur'an:

"There is no compulsion in religion" (Surah Baqarah, verse 256).
But the issue of apostasy differs from the free adoption of an opinion
or belief.

In other words, I should say that from the viewpoint of the Islamic
fiqh, there is a skeptic who is seeking the truth and there is
also an obstinate apostate. These two are basically different from
each other.

A skeptic is one who does not want to take up a creed and follow
a religion in a hereditary way. He or she is doubtful and hesitant
of what parents and family or society have inculcated upon his or her
mind about God and Islam, and doubts whether they are true or not.
That is why he doubts and thus embarks on studying and searching for
the discovery of truth and reality.

Not only is this doubt not reproachable and bad from the viewpoint
of Islam, but it is also praised. Because the Glorious Qur'an
reproaches ancient nations for having imitated their ancestors in
religion and creed. Even research facilities should be provided for
the searching and studying of a skeptic out of the Muslims' public
treasury. Because the root of this doubt lies in honesty, sincerity,
and knowledge. Doubt is a very good passageway, but a very bad place
to stop in.

However, apostasy is a matter of treason and ideological treachery,
which originates from hostility and hypocrisy. The destiny of a person
who has an inborn handicap is different from the destiny of one whose
hand should be cut off, due to the development of a dangerous and
infectious disease.

The apostasy of a Muslim individual whose parents have also been
Muslim is a very infectious, dangerous, and incurable disease that
appears in the body of an ummah (people) and threatens people's
lives, and that is why this rotten limb should be severed.

An apostate is an adversary who has penetrated the Islamic ummah
as the faith column of the enemy of Islam and Muslims and who has
taken advantage of his natural situation.

Apostasy is escape from the pattern of creation and nature and
that is why the word "voluntary" has been adopted for such an apostate
and that is the reason why the punishment of a voluntary apostate is
heavier than that of an innate apostate. Can the penalty of escaping
from the path and pattern of nature and creation be anything other
than annihilation? This is the same thing that has been crystallized
in the penal code of Islam.

The anti-apostasy punishments of Islam are proper laws to rescue
mankind from falling into the cesspool of treason, betrayal, and
disloyalty and to remind the human being of his ideological commitments.
A committed man should not violate his promise and vow, especially
his promise to God. All the punitive laws of Islam have a similar
goal. For example, they ask, why is a thief's hand cut for stealing
five hundred or one thousand tomans? This is the denial of the value
of the human being! But the fact is that a thief's hand is not cut
off for the sake of a hundred or a thousand tomans, but his hand is
severed for having deprived the human society of security. In other
words, a thief's hand is cut for the revival of human values.

An objective and real proof of the fact that apostasy always has
a treacherous and warlike nature and revolves around high political
and social positions indeed, and not around the free adoption of
a belief, as it is alleged, can be seen in the events of the early
days of Islam.

After the demise of the Prophet of Islam (SAWA), most Arab tribes
became apostate under the influence of their errant, arrogant, and
idolatrous chiefs. These apostates were led by the false claimers
of prophethood. Their first step after the Prophet's death was to
attack Medina and other centers of Islam. In the wars that the
bellicose apostates waged against Muslims, fifty or sixty thousand
people were killed and the number of casualties is unprecedented in
Arab history.

Their most heinous ringleaders were "Ablaha ibn Ka`b" known as
"Asswad Ghassi"; in Yemen "Mosailimah Kadhdhab" at Hadra Moat, and
"Taliha Ibn Khowailad Assadi" in the Bani Assad tribe. These wars,
and similar wars, which occurred later, show the tyrannical nature
of apostasy and justify the necessity of a decisive combat against
it.[15]

Another example, which is expressive of the insincere nature of
the sinister phenomenon of apostasy, is the ruthless inhuman murder
of faithful Muslims by Marxian apostates in Iran under the Shah's
regime under the pretext of "changing their ideology". They committed
these crimes as "revolutionary assassinations". Yet, instead of
assassinating the ringleaders of SAWAK (the Shah's secret police),
they murdered anti-Shah and anti-U.S. Muslims who worshipped God.
This is the shameful face of apostasy.

From Amnesty International, Law and Human Rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran, February 1980, MDE/13/03/80.

Apostasy and a Period for Repentance

In most schools (of Islam), the apostate is given the chance
to return from error and follow the ordained path. If this is not
done he or, according to the Shi`a Imamiya, she will be executed.
The period which is given to the apostate to return varies according
to the schools but the Shi`a Imamiya are particularly harsh in that
they say that whoever was born into Islam and turns away from it
should be killed and no repentance accepted.